Peter Pan Coffee Cake

Just got back from a trip to Grandma J's where I was "convinced" to return with some old cookbooks and brought back some real gems including a number of product-oriented cookbooks from the '50s & '60s.  Back in the day (and still sometimes today), companies would put out mini paperback cookbooks featuring recipes using either their food product or recipes made using their kitchen equipment.

I don't know about you, but I love food history, and collecting vintage cookbooks is a fun way to look back at the gourmand evolution in the U.S.  And let me tell you, tastes have changed!

I have a number of these cookbooks in my collection, but have never used them out so thought it would be fun to actually try out some of the recipes and then share them with you.  I'm going to start with "The Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cook Book" (1963).

You can thank me later for sparing you from the likes of Bacon Pinwheels or Meat Morsels, both of which feature savory meats and peanut butter...alright, I think the nausea has passed...instead, I thought I would bring you a delightful morning treat instead.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

coffee cake

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg, well beaten
3/4 cup milk

topping

1/2 cup Peter Pan, peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cream

Sift dry ingredients together into a bowl.  With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine egg and milk and add to flour mixture, stirring only enough to form soft dough. (FYI, it's actually more like clingy batter than soft dough.)

Spread mixture in greased 8x8x2-inch baking pan. 

Blend together topping and spread evenly on coffee cake.

Bake in moderate (350 degrees F) oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve warm.

NOTES

As an alternate to the cake-like coffee cake, the recipe offers the option to make muffins instead: 

"Delicious, too, baked as muffins, with batter spooned in by halves and "topping" in between. (For muffins, bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.)"

The coffee cake turned out kind of crumbly, but since it's coffee cake, I think that's totally acceptable.  It's a heavy tasting coffee cake, but the cake itself is actually pretty light and not too dense, goes perfectly with coffee.

Best yet, it will make your house smell cozy, like warm peanut butter.